The submit Sophie Woods Units General Supported FKT on 2,000-Kilometer Through Alpina Route appeared first on iRunFar.
On Saturday, August 1, New Zealander Sophie Woods (née Grant) completed her traverse of all the size of the Alps, on the Through Alpina route, setting a brand new general supported quickest recognized time of 28 days, 17 hours, and 59 minutes. This beats each the prior males’s report of 35 days, 21 hours, and 4 minutes, set by the U.Ok.’s Jake Catterall in 2024, and the earlier girls’s report of 38 days, 2 hours, and 54 minutes, set by Tessa Caspers (The Netherlands) in 2025.
The route stretches from Trieste, Italy, to Monaco. On the best way, it passes by Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, again into Italy, and thru France earlier than terminating at Place du Palais in Monaco. Woods averaged simply over 70 kilometers (43 miles) and over 4,000 meters (13,123 ft) of climbing every day to cowl a complete of two,018 kilometers (1,254 miles) and 117,614 meters of elevation (385,873 ft).
Woods, an ultrarunner from New Zealand who lives within the U.Ok., excels at long-distance technical trails. She is a three-time Tor des Géants finisher, positioned third within the 2026 Winter Backbone Race, and took 15th within the 2017 UTMB, and twelfth there in 2015. She’s additionally completed high 10 on the Lavaredo Extremely Path on quite a few events, together with sixth in 2023, and has quite a few accolades in skyrunning, additionally.
Motivations and Preparations
She had deeply private causes for eager to tackle the Through Alpina quickest recognized time (FKT), and instructed iRunFar:
“After years of making an attempt to get pregnant, adopted by a failed IVF switch, I reached some extent the place I wished my life to look totally different. I’ve raced at so many unimaginable occasions over the previous decade, however I now not wished to maintain returning to the identical begin traces. I had by no means been significantly enthusiastic about making an attempt an FKT, however when my husband, George [Woods], recommended this route, it sounded far too good to cross up.”
On how she ready for the problem, she shared: “I used to be very aware of the stress I used to be going to position on my physique, so I labored arduous within the gymnasium to construct energy. I additionally targeted closely on my diet in order that I started the problem with as a lot power in reserve as attainable.”
She additionally leaned closely on the experiences of others within the FKT world and mentioned: “I listened to as many podcasts that includes Tara Dower and Karel Sabbe as I may, and I picked the brains of my La Sportiva teammates John Kelly and Sabrina Verjee. I wished to study from their experiences and restrict the variety of errors I made out on the path.”
A Run By means of the Alps
Woods set off from Trieste at 4 a.m. on Saturday, July 4, and ran by temperatures of 33 levels Celcius (91 Fahrenheit) on the primary day, as all of Europe endured an unprecedented heatwave. Already throughout the border and into Slovenia, the second day offered a brand new problem as her assist crew car, Quentin the van, started having mechanical issues. The third day noticed Woods push by 20 hours of steep climbing and technical descents.
By the sixth day, Woods had traded the quieter, technical sections of the route for busier trails, touring from Grunsee to Obstansersee-Hütte, Austria. By the tip of the primary week, she had reached the Italian Dolomites and had already coated 480 kilometers (300 miles) and climbed virtually 28,000 meters (92,000 ft).
The second week posed new challenges, together with knee ache and crew entry points, which necessitated reducing the eighth day quick, however Woods was nonetheless on observe to interrupt each the ladies’s and general information. The eleventh day was marred by horseflies and the onset of thunderstorms, which pressured a change in plans for the next days.
Woods recalled, “Fairly early within the journey, Zoe [Salt, a photographer who accompanied Woods and documented much of the FKT] and I have been caught in a horrendous thunderstorm. It grew to become so horrifying that I discovered myself desirous about what I’d inform her household if one thing went badly improper.”
The second week ended with brutal tarmac sections by Austria amid 37-degree-Celsius (98 Fahrenheit) warmth. Woods instructed iRunFar, “The warmth was extraordinarily powerful. I used to be very lucky to have a crew who packed me with ice each time I noticed them. I additionally tried to remain as moist as attainable, cooling myself down in each stream and fountain I handed.”
Into the third week, the warmth continued to rage as Woods journeyed by Liechtenstein and into Switzerland, however her spirits remained excessive. By means of this part, Woods discovered herself operating amongst opponents within the Crossing Switzerland extremely, which added ambiance and momentum.
A Crew Effort
On the twentieth day, Woods was shocked by then-overall Through Alpine FKT holder, Catterall, who got here out to indicate his assist. By the tip of the third week, she’d coated 1,434 kilometers (891 miles) and climbed 84,442 meters (277,041 ft).
As phrase had filtered out by numerous channels about Woods’s run, she was joined every day by a number of native runners and journalists all through the fourth week. Fellow Kiwi and 2025 UTMB champion, Ruth Croft, was among the many mates popping out to indicate their assist and share some miles.
For Woods, the spotlight of the entire expertise was the miles shared with mates. She recalled, “By the third week, I had spent an excessive amount of time alone, so having so many shut mates come out to affix me was extremely motivating. Their firm, assist, and love fully renewed my power at a time once I actually wanted it.”
Because the heatwave continued, wildfires ravaged components of the mountains, that means Woods and her crew needed to continually adapt and plan detours as sections of the path grew to become impassable. This meant including distance and elevation, whereas staying as true to the unique route as attainable. Undeterred, Woods surged on. Towards the tip of the third week, her husband, George, coined her new path title, “Freight Practice.”
The week ended with a really technical part from Colle Della Lombarda in Italy to Camp D’Argent in France, amidst thunderstorms, swarms of bugs, and really lengthy sections with out crew entry. With virtually a month of climbing already in her legs, Woods coated over 84 kilometers (52 miles) and almost 6,000 meters (19,700 ft) of climbing on the twenty eighth day, then slept for simply 90 minutes earlier than the ultimate push to the end.
On the ultimate day, Woods coated the final remaining 58 kilometers (36 miles) into Monaco, ending in a complete time of 28 days, 17 hours, and 59 minutes, beating the general report by greater than every week.
Woods felt vastly indebted to her crew, led by her husband George; photographer Salt for her work documenting the journey; and an extra crew at house managing media and different logistics.
She mentioned: “Till you try one thing like this, I don’t assume you’ll be able to absolutely perceive how necessary it’s to have the appropriate individuals in your nook. Every day, all I may do was place myself of their arms and allow them to inform me what to do. I used to be so exhausted that I used to be usually fully incapable of creating selections for myself.”
She added: “I had a formidable group of girls in my nook managing every little thing from my Instagram posts to the media requests that started arriving after Stephanie Case’s submit went viral. Their work allowed me to focus fully on transferring ahead.”
Sophie Woods Units General Supported FKT on 2,000-Kilometer Through Alpina Route by Sarah Brady.
